Published: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2:18 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2:18 a.m.

The first is that of a copy of "Adams's New Arithmetic," published in 1839, which I found in our (abandoned, sadly) local one-room schoolhouse in the 1950s. The full title of the book goes on for more than half of the title page, but ends: "Designed for the Use of Schools and Academies in the United States."

In that one-room schoolhouse, apparently, by the eighth grade, not only could you ascertain the square root of any number, but also the cube root (pages 215-221 in Adams's). Those were the days of wooden schoolhouses and iron students. And iron teachers.

The second is that of a science-fiction story by Isaac Asimov, "The Feeling of Power," written in 1957. In that story, Aub, the hero, has independently rediscovered the art of manual arithmetic, lost long ago in a computer-aided, now computer-dependent world.

He is brought before high government and military officials to display his ability. It triggers the establishment of a secret project on human computation, hoped to give Earth an edge over Deneb in the ongoing war.

Alas, the otherwise-humorous story doesn't end well, but it's a good read.

<p>Jim Posmer's letter ["Improve Education by Removing Cell Phones and Calculators," Dec. 5] triggered a couple memories.</p><p>The first is that of a copy of "Adams's New Arithmetic," published in 1839, which I found in our (abandoned, sadly) local one-room schoolhouse in the 1950s. The full title of the book goes on for more than half of the title page, but ends: "Designed for the Use of Schools and Academies in the United States."</p><p>In that one-room schoolhouse, apparently, by the eighth grade, not only could you ascertain the square root of any number, but also the cube root (pages 215-221 in Adams's). Those were the days of wooden schoolhouses and iron students. And iron teachers.</p><p>The second is that of a science-fiction story by Isaac Asimov, "The Feeling of Power," written in 1957. In that story, Aub, the hero, has independently rediscovered the art of manual arithmetic, lost long ago in a computer-aided, now computer-dependent world.</p><p>He is brought before high government and military officials to display his ability. It triggers the establishment of a secret project on human computation, hoped to give Earth an edge over Deneb in the ongoing war.</p><p>Alas, the otherwise-humorous story doesn't end well, but it's a good read.</p><p>There's a lesson to be learned here, somewhere.</p><p>MICHAEL ARMSTRONG</p><p>Polk City</p>